Latest Area News Headlines

LUVERNE – For the first time since June of 2012, the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System on Thursday awarded a pipeline contract. The contract, which came in at two million dollars less than the engineers estimate, was for $16.5 million to Carstensen Contracting of Pipestone, and includes 18 miles of pipe that will run from the Minnesota/Iowa border to Luverne. When completed, Lewis & Clark will be able to deliver water to Luverne. The substantial completion deadline is November 2015.

Roughly two-thirds of the funds for this project are being provided by the State of...

WORTHINGTON – The organizers behind the Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener in Worthington are working diligently to sell raffle tickets, the winners of which will be drawn at the banquet on October 10 at the Worthington Event Center.

According to Doug Tate, one of the organizers, the grand prize of the raffle is a 2014 John Deere Gator – a side by side with front and back seats. It hold s six adults, has a box with an electric lift and a removable top.

There are other prizes, and an auction at the banquet will wield additional treasures.
Only 300 tickets will be sold...

ROCK RAPIDS, Iowa — An Orange City man faces charges following a pursuit Tuesday through portions of Sioux and Lyon Counties.

Officials say it started around 8:45 a.m. when an Orange City Police Officer was pursuing a vehicle. The pursuit continued into Lyon County southeast of George, before heading north along the Minnesota border. Stop sticks were deployed, partially disabling the vehicle. The pusuit then went back south, ending five miles southeast of Rock Rapids.

The driver, 36-year-old David Cyril Cephas Wilson of Orange City, was arrested and charged with eluding a...

WORTHINGTON – During a special meeting Tuesday morning, the Worthington City Council took a hard look at the future of Prairie View Golf Links, bringing up the need for a comprehensive exit strategy in the event it becomes necessary, and the intriguing possibility of making some changes at the golf course so it could be adapted for the game of footgolf.

According to council member Ron Wood, a footgolf course can be laid over the golf course for approximately $3,500 without overly disturbing the golf course. The game involves players kicking a soccer-type ball into a cup in as few...

WORTHINGTON – Buffalo Ridge Drug Task Force Commander Troy Appel was officially named as the new Director of Public Safety Monday for the City of Worthington in a news release sent out by city administrator Craig Clark. Appel was pleased with the appointment. He said he was very excited to step into the new role of police chief.

He has turned in a letter of resignation from the task force, and in two weeks will officially be appointed as the director of public safety and take over the responsibilities of the police department. The Buffalo Ridge Drug Task Force Board will begin the...

WORTHINGTON – Troy Appel was named the new Director of Public Safety for the City of Worthington on Monday, according to a news release issued by Worthington City Administrator Craig Clark.

Appel was hired as a part-time patrol officer with the Worthington Police Department in 1993 and moved to full-time in 1996. He served as the Emergency Response Unit team leader from 1998 to 1999 and became a narcotics investigator in 1999, reestablishing the position for the Worthington Police Department.

In that position, he acted in an undercover capacity, recruiting confidential...

WORTHINGTON – The driver of an SUV was transported by ambulance Monday morning after it crashed with a semi truck at the intersection of Minnesota 60 and Armour Road in Worthington at approximately 10:22 a.m. The Minnesota State Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Worthington Fire and Rescue and the Worthington Ambulance.

The Worthington Police Department and Nobles County Sheriff's Office also assisted with traffic control.

WORTHINGTON – There are two author presentations in Worthington this week, courtesy of the 40th anniversary of the Plum Creek Regional Library System.

At noon Wednesday, Waseca native Rachael Hanel will offer an informal brown bag lunch presentation in the Nobles County Historical Museum, located in the lower level of the Nobles County Library. Hanel has received critical praise for her book “We’ll Be the Last Ones to Let You Down: Memoir of a Gravedigger’s Daughter,” which was published in 2013 by the University of Minnesota Press. She has also authored more than 20 non-fiction...

ROUND LAKE – A 49-year-old South Dakota man died Friday in a crash between two semi trucks near Round Lake, according to information released Saturday morning by the Minnesota State Patrol.

Charles Luze of Sioux Falls was killed when the 2005 Mack Truck he was driving northbound on Minnesota 264 struck a 1998 Freightliner semi that went through a stop sign on Nobles County Road 35. The Mack struck the right center of the Freightliner.

The driver of the Freightliner, 67-year-old James Miller of Cylinder, Iowa, suffered no apparent injury.

WORTHINGTON – Tickets for the Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener Banquet at the Worthington Event Center went on sale this week.

Governor Mark Dayton will be in Worthington October 10 and 11 for the 2014 pheasant hunting opener, something that was announced during last year’s event in Madelia.

The Friday night banquet, which is open to the public, begins with a social hour at 6 p.m. and the meal at 7 p.m. The meal is sponsored by JBS. Tickets are $35 each or $50 per couple. After the meal, there will be a live auction and presentations. Only 250 tickets for the banquet will...